Saturday, May 09, 2009

Kali...Happy Dark Mother's Day

Last week I finished a piece based on one of the most complex Hindu deities, Kali Ma, the Dark Mother.

Of course she also has a benevolent side but usually when you see her she is in her dark mode of destruction. Usually standing above the dead body of Shiva....don't worry he comes back. He's a god after all. She apparently also fought Sinbad...here she is now...

Thought I'd share some images of a piece I just finished. This is my Kali, the Dark Mother.

She is life size and I am currently building a class proposal around this concept. If you're in Missoula you can stop by the store Tsunami on Higgins Ave. and check her out in person.

One missing feature that I deliberated long and hard on is the traditional Kali tougue. I tried it and it was too much for this particular piece. Instead I sort of insinuate it.It is usually bright red and sort of like Gene Simmons. In fact I really think that he used her as inspiration. You compare and decide:

10 comments:

Wow what a great piece! (although I am not sure about the "thing"around her mouth to stop her from talking? Hang on a minute, there is a couple of people at work that that would be great for.. can you make me some ?? LOL

I really like her "tongue" and my goodness I can see the resemblance in Gene!!!

The first time I heard the name Kali was watching Gunga Din with Cary Grant. She was one scary dudette! Since then I've developed a cautious affection for the Dark Mother. Your Kali Ma is a beautiful interpretation, ancient and contemporary. Yeah, that red tongue would be overkill (heh!). Gene Simmons terrifies me ever since my boss showed up wearing his Kiss mask one Halloween. Eewww!

A late comment, albeit a sincere one. This is absolutely fabulous. I'm a great admirer of your work and have been trying to synch up my schedule to take a class sometime, somewhere in the U.S.

Last time I was in India it was Kali's festival day, and she was absolutely everywhere. I thought it was really interesting that Kali historically had been naked, but the shrines to her in all but one or 2 cases had her clothed. West meets East.

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About Me

Michael deMeng is an assemblage artist from Vancouver, Canada who exhibits throughout the United States. As an educator, he has been actively involved with VSA Montana, providing art education and encouraging participation in the arts to people with disabilities. Through these activities, as well as his artwork, deMeng fosters community awareness, and offers creative methods to explore the human experience.

In his art, he addresses issues of transformation. Discarded materials find new and unexpected uses in his work; they are reassembled and conjoined with unlikely components, a form of rebirth from the ashes into new life and new meaning.

These assemblages are metaphors for the evolutions and revolutions of existence: from life to death to rebirth, from new to old to renewed, from construction to destruction to reconstruction. These forms are examinations of the world in perpetual flux, where meaning and function are ever-changing.